Peter Constantine

The Purchased Bride Peter Constantine

Set in Turkey in the final years of the Ottoman Empire, The Purchased Bride reflects the true story of Constantine's Greek grandmother, Maria, who was bought when she was fifteen by a much older, wealthy Ottoman man. As the Ottoman Empire falls, Maria and her parents flee the torching of their Greek village in the Caucasus by insurgents and find shelter in a refugee camp across the border on Ottoman territory. With impending cholera and plague, the priest who is running the camp arranges for Maria to be married off to a wealthy Ottoman Turk in the capital. This is a desperate measure, for marriage in this case means that the wealthy Muslim gentlemen will pay large sums of money, and that the girls, once purchased, will be the buyers' concubines. After Maria has been sold, she and her best friend Lita travel through a fascinating world of ancient and forgotten Ottoman mountain communities. As they get closer to the Black Sea coast, violence escalates with sniper attacks and marauding troops as the Empire is collapsing and breakaway provinces are declaring themselves independent caliphates in defiance of the Sultan. When Maria's friend Lita escapes, Maria is left to face her fate alone. In spite of the mounting violence Maria's caravan continues to head for the Black Sea port where she is to leave on the last ship to Constantinople. A story of war, struggle, and ultimate success, The Purchased Bride sheds light on a turbulent and dangerous part of history.